Chapter 4: Restoring from Pain

The next morning he arrived with a greyish sense of unreality. The first lights of the dawn barely made it through the thick fog that covered the shelter, the environment heavily permeated by a silent duel. Eilam felt empty, a specter of his former self, lost in a sea of contradictory emotions.

The day before he had received Vorian's ashes and belongings. The delivery was made with the utmost respect, each officer aware of the weight of the loss that Eilam carried. Among his brother's belongings was a small box marked with his name. As he held the box in his hands, a mixture of curiosity and sadness enveloped him. He took a deep breath before opening it.

Inside the box, he found a series of carefully arranged objects: a pendant with a protection symbol he had always seen Vorian carry, a folded sheet of paper with his brother's family handwriting, and several small memories of a shared past. Eilam sat on his bed, his body tense with memory and emotion contained, as he unfolded the letter to read the words Vorian had left him.

"Dear Eilam,"

"If you're reading this, it means I haven't been able to keep my promise to come back to you. I'm deeply sorry and I hope that one day you can forgive me for it. I know you're dealing with a lot of pain and confusion right now, but I want you to know that I always believed in you."

"In this letter, I've left some things that have great meaning for me and that I now want you to have. Take it as a reminder that I will always be with you, no matter what happens. There's also something else. It's a strange object that I found during a mission. I don't know exactly its purpose, but I felt it was important. Maybe you can find out."

"Now, more than ever, it's up to you to decide your path. You are stronger than you realize, and even if you don't have the dowry of Qi or Neo-Synthesis with weapons, you have a brave heart and a brilliant mind. Use that talent and find your purpose. Never forget that you are a Sylastar."

"With all my love and hope, Vorian."

Tears accumulated in Eilam's eyes, but this time they were not only of sadness, but also of an inner struggle to accept the weight of his brother's words. He closed the card carefully, holding the star-shaped pendant tightly. However, a sharp pain from what happened the previous day overwhelmed him. Guilt and remorse made him wobble. In a fit of frustration, he whispered, "If you were really that strong, you would have come home."

With those words, he threw the wooden box into a nearby wall. The box hit the ground hard and, in doing so, the bottom came off, exposing something I hadn't seen before similar to the collar symbol. He crouched down to pick it up and found a strange object, with a shape similar to that of a star. Intrigued, he picked it up and held it under the light, observing its complex engravings and unknown design.

As he analyzed it, his mind was flooded with memories. One day, while he was sneering among his brother's things, he had found a small box with a space of equal proportion to the object he was now holding. It was as if a spark of understanding illuminated his mind, arousing a curiosity that led him to the ancient study of Vorian.

He went to the studio, a place he had barely visited since his brother's death. The room, tidy and full of Vorian's unfinished projects, evoked a panorama of simpler times. He stopped in front of the shelf where he had seen the box. Their fingers ran through the edges of the books and notebooks until they found what they were looking for: a small dark box.

The box seemed strangely heavy to him, as if he were hiding more secrets than he could see. He placed it on the desk and, with great care, opened the lid. Inside, he found what he had anticipated: an empty space the exact size and shape of the object in his hands. With a sigh, he placed the star inside.

The object fitted perfectly, and in doing so, a soft voice began to emanate from the box, filling the room with the familiar sound of Vorian and revealing an inner part of the box.

"Eilam, if you hear this, it means you found the secret I tried to protect. This object is not a simple artifact; it is the heart of an S-rank Neomorph, a humanoid beast that we manage to destroy with great difficulty. During the trials, we discovered that this heart radiated an incredible power, a power that could become uncontrolled and devastating."

"They wanted to develop a weapon with it, but every time they did experiments, the power detonated in a way we'd never seen before. He caught everyone's attention, and I saw the greed in his eyes. They began to fight each other for control of the artifact, falling into madness and despair. No one noticed when I took it and sealed it in this box, surrounded by the skin of the beast, which acts as an insulating container."

"Eilam, I need you to take care of him and protect him. It must not fall into the wrong hands because, instead of helping us, it could lead to destruction. Sorry for taking such a lot of care, but there's no one I trust more than you. You may not be negatively affected by not having a compatibility with the tools, but be very careful anyway."

The recording ended, leaving Eilam in a dense and responsible silence. I knew what I had to do. With a renewed sense of purpose and the serene presence of his brother guiding his actions, Eilam picked up both the diary and the device, and set out to follow Vorian's instructions.

Night had fallen on the city like a blanket of despair. Eilam, with his heart beating and cold sweat running through his forehead feeling the weight of Vorian's words on his chest, found himself surrounded by shadows that were moving stealthily through his home. The black-clad intruders were looking for something with determination in their cold, calculating looks. With skill learned from his brother, Eilam avoided being discovered and kept the important objects in his backpack.

He descended the stairs, each step an echo in the chaos that surrounded him. The walls of his home, once full of laughter and memories, were now marked by destruction. Upon reaching the bottom, he came face to face with death. A man dressed in black confronted him, his voice was a deadly whisper that cut through silence. "Give me the object," he demanded, his presence as menacing as the sword wielding.

Eilam, feeling the pressure of the situation, considered for a moment to give in to the demand. But his brother's words, Vorian, echoed in his mind, giving him the strength to resist. "I don't know what you mean, but if you invade my home like this, after my brother's death, I won't tolerate it. Go away!" he exclaimed boldly, though his voice trembled slightly.

The enemy, showing a cruel smile, advanced with a sword in hand, determined to finish him off. Eilam, wounded and desperate, tripped, losing his glasses and part of his vision. Even so, his determination did not falter; he escaped through the window, feeling the mocking gaze of his pursuers.

The great forest within the refuge became his momentary sanctuary. He climbed to the heights, his heart and his breath uncontrolled, tears marking his face. I knew I couldn't stop, not now, not when I was so close to the truth.

Finally, he found himself on a dead-end cliff. As he turned around, he saw his pursuers blocking his path, and in the center, a man with a mutated sword. "That sword is... are you, you... Darian, my brother's friend, a Zero-rank warrior. What the hell do you think you do?" cried Eilam, the betrayal cutting deeper than any sword.

Darian, with a somber smile, took off his mask. "Dude, do you think so? It's time to end this." The tension could be cut with a knife as Eilam, with a mixture of sadness and fury, faced the reality of betrayal.

Darian's laughter echoed in the air. "You make the same face as your brother just before you die." Suddenly, a voice from behind ordered silence Darian don't speak anymore. Eilam, in shock, squeezed his hands until he bled. "What did you say?" he cried with a pain that transcended the physical.

In an unexpected twist, Eilam, screaming, stumbled and fell into the abyss...

His body was shattered by the fall. As the enemies searched for his body, he, with his last breath, consumed the Neomorph's heart, ensuring that his secret was never discovered.

The pursuers and Darian, they found him on the ground, his body twisted by pain and agony as blood came out of his mouth. They searched their belongings avidly, but the object they so desired was not there.

"Looks like he was telling the truth, he has nothing! Vorian didn't even trust his brother," muttered one of the persecutors, his voice full of disdain.

"Of course," said another with a cruel smile. "What could this little boy be supposed to do to defend what even his brother could?"

Darian approached Eilam, his imposing figure dimming the moonlight. "It looks like it was a misunderstanding, but you'll still have to die. I'm sorry," he said with a mocking laugh. With his sword in hand, he began to slowly insert it into Eilam's chest. The pain was unbearable, but Eilam could no longer scream, only spill more and more blood.

Losing consciousness, the last words Eilam heard were filled with contempt. "Tch, you're not funny at all," Darian said with disdain. "Let's go back and look at the house."

As they walked away, one asked, "And the corpse?"

"We'll let some beast eat it. We will say that he infiltrated and attacked his house, and he died after fleeing and lured him into the forest, but his body was lost," Darian replied coldly.

And so, in the darkness of the forest, Eilam found his end, alone and forgotten, his lost legacy in the shadows of betrayal.